The first wave of box office numbers are in for Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War," and things are looking pretty good for the Star Spangled Avenger. Though the film doesn't open in North America and China until May 6, its early release elsewhere around the world will provide a good projection for what Disney can expect here at home.
"Civil War" opened last night in Belgium, Colombia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, South Korea, Luxembourg, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and Vietnam. All together, the Walt Disney picture earned a jaw-dropping $14.9 million in one night.
For some perspective, Warner Bros.' "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" earned just $7 million from Wednesday to Thursday in its first release date overseas among 12 territories. It put up $44 million heading into the Friday-Sunday weekend. "Civil War" will expand to 63 markets over this weekend for what is expected to be a mammoth opening frame overseas.
Comparing "Civil War" to fellow Marvel properties, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" opened on April 22 of last year and posted $9.5 million in its first available day overseas. The film reached even more theaters on Thursday and headed into the Friday-Sunday weekend with $44.8 million total. It ended its initial five-day global run with $201 million. Similarly, "Iron Man 3" began its rollout in April of 2013 with a $13.5 million opening day overseas and a $198 million debut outside of North America/Russia/China.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" put up $75 million in its initial overseas weekend run, and "The Avengers" earned $17.3 million on its opening day before taking in an overseas weekend total of $185 million.
Whew, that was a lot of numbers. But they're important to keep in mind as we try to project what "Civil War" will do. Given all of the previous information, Disney can expect an overseas five-day haul likely between $200 million and $250 million. In other words, the Mouse House has another monster hit on its hands.
"Captain America: Civil War" stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd and more. It will arrive in the U.S. on May 6.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
